Lost(48)

My heart started to beat faster. This could be it. There was so much riding on what we did next that I felt a flutter of anxiety. I couldn’t stop thinking about the people locked on board. We had to get to them.

By now, Lorena Perez, Anthony Chilleo, and Rick Morris, the DHS supervisor I’d been talking to on the phone, had gathered near the ship. I explained how I’d recognized Vacile from the airport. Morris, an in-shape, middle-aged man with a slightly graying crew cut, said, “That’s a pretty thin story to ruin someone’s reputation over.”

I said, “Do you know this guy personally?”

“Never heard of him.” He glanced down at his phone. “But I’m looking at his personnel file and he doesn’t have any complaints. Coincidences happen all the time. That’s why they’re called coincidences. Like how it was a coincidence that I was the internal affairs supervisor on call when you said you needed help. If you had called the next day, then, by coincidence, I’d be at my college reunion right now instead of here. See what I mean about coincidences?”

He was right. It was a long shot. “‘Coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous,’” I said.

Only Steph knew to ask, “Okay, who said that?”

“Albert Einstein.”

The DHS agent said, “So your probable cause is based on a dead physicist’s comments about God?”

I was losing my patience, and I raised my voice. “Look, Rick, people might die. This is a literal life-and-death situation. C’mon, don’t be an administrative geek now. Be a cop. If we ignore this and do nothing and people wind up dying, we’re responsible for the death of every one of them. Tell me, is that something you could live with?”

Rick shook his head and said, “Let’s go.”





CHAPTER 70





THE TIME HAD come. Hanna Greete felt like a bundle of exposed nerves. Everything was an assault on her senses. She tried to stay quiet as she and Albert waited near the port of Miami. All of her hard work came down to the next few hours. If anything happened and they weren’t able to pay off their debts, all was lost. There was no other way to look at the situation.

They could see the ship they were waiting for, the Scandinavian Queen, docked next to another ship in the easternmost section of the port.

Two long passenger vans rumbled into the loading zone behind Hanna and Albert.

Hanna twisted on the bench and saw Billy, her Russian contact, pop out of the front passenger seat of the first van. He wore a dark suit and had his thinning hair slicked back. She hid her surprise.

He was his usual cheerful self. Billy clapped his hands together as he walked toward them. “And how are my Dutch friends on this beautiful evening?” He had a wide grin.

Albert leaned in close to his sister and mumbled, “This can’t be a good sign.” He reached under his shirt. Hanna placed a hand on her brother’s arm.

She said, “Wait. Let’s hear what he has to say.”

“Whatever he says, it will mean he’s screwing us out of our money. This isn’t the Vatican we’re dealing with. These guys don’t care about our troubles.”

Hanna stepped forward and asked Billy, “How did you know it was time to come to the port?” Her aggressive tone didn’t seem to bother the friendly Russian.

Billy held up his hands but kept a smile. “You’re not serious, are you?” Billy said. His accent sounded almost elegant. “You don’t think our mutual contact won’t call us first? Surely you can’t be that naive.”

Hanna eyed the other Russians coming out of the vans. They all had hard edges, even the lone woman, who was tall, with straight dark hair. Serious expressions, alert eyes, and the quiet restlessness that came with expecting trouble.

Hanna said, “We’re paying for the service; we expect to be the ones who get the benefit from it.”

“Vacile may take money from you, but he’s a loyal Russian. He texted me as he was about to enter the ship.”

Hanna noticed the Russians near the vans were keeping a close eye on Albert. Her brother was aware of their interest.

She hoped this didn’t turn into a bloody fight.





CHAPTER 71





THE FIRST THING I noticed as we carefully approached the ship we’d seen Vacile enter—the Scandinavian Queen—was a security guard standing at the top of the gangplank. The lanky young man looked from the ship to the dock. Not this shit again, I thought.

I slowed everyone down a little way from the ship and said, “I’ve had to deal with a shipping security agent once already this week. I’d rather we didn’t have to muscle our way past this guy. Any ideas?” I looked around the group.

Without any hesitation, Steph Hall said, “I got this.” She hid her badge, unbuttoned two buttons on her shirt, looked over her shoulder, and gave me a wink.

Lorena Perez said, “Really, you think that’s gonna work?”

Steph said, “He’s a dude under twenty-five. It’ll work.”

Chill said, “Probably would, but what if I try something else first?”

Steph looked annoyed for a moment, then said, “I’ll defer to your experience.” ATF agents went undercover on a regular basis.